Machine for constructing railways.



PATBNTED APR. 30, 1907.

R. F. DOWNBY. A MACHINE PoR GONSTRUGTING 'RAILWAYS-` APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27. 1906.

` o SHEETS-SHEET z.

R. P. 'DOWNEY- MACHINE PoR GONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. Z7. 1906.

PATBNTBD APR. so, 19072 l R. P. DOWNBY.

MACHINE POR GONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS,

PPLIGATION FILED AUG. 27. '1906.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

PATENTBD APR. 30,*1907.

R. E. DOWNBY. MACHINE FOR CONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27. 1906.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 51 alb/23 ffy @MVM/w54.

PATBNTED APR. so, 19o?. R. F. DOWNBY. MACHINE FOR CONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27. 1906.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 6,

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No. 851,982. PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

R. F. DOWNEY. MACHINE FOR CONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 27. 1906.

9 SHEETS-SHEET '1.

PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

R. lI". DOWNEY. MACHINE PORGONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27.*1906.

9 SHEETS-SHEET a.

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@Mm/4f PATENTE-D APR. 30, 1907. R. F. DOWNBY.

MACHINE POR GONSTRUGTING RAILWAYS. APPLIOATIN FILED AUG. 2.7. 199e.

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@IEM/vel@ J Unrrnn s'rarns en me?" Treinreis i riithl'l Op sin Q RICHARD F. DO'WNEY, OF MILIIIAUIEE, INTISCONSIN, ASSIGN JR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMEN'CS, TO

BUILDING MACHINE COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF WISQONSIN.

MCHlNE FOR CONSTRUCTWG RILVJXIYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April. 80, i907.

Application filed AugHSli 27! 190G- SGTUJ No. 332,200.

To all when?, it 11i/(ty concern;

Be it known that I, RicHAnD F. Downer',

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of W'isconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Constructing Railways; and I do hereby declare that the following'is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

' The Object of my invention is to provide a simple, durable and accurate machine 'for laying railway tracks, whereby great s peed is attained with a minimum expenditure ot unskilled labor, the machine liieing so con structed and arranged, 4that by' a system of levers and clutches, it is entirely within the control of operators to cause ties and rails from adjacent {iat-cars, lto be fed 'forward and deposited in place upon the roaddoed ahead of said machine, simultaneous with the spiking of the rails to ties just previously delivered upon said bed.

Said invention therefore consists in various peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafter i'ully set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings: Figures 1 and 1, repre* sents longitudinal sectional elevations of the rear and front portions of a track-laying ma- 'chine made in accordance with myinvention,

with a portion of a flat car attached, illustrating the method of -feeding the ties and rails therefrom to the machine, the section oi said machine being indicated by lines l--'1 in Figs. 3 and 5; Fig'. 2, an enlarged ldetail elevation of a portion of the iront end of the machine with the overhanging boom extension broken away g Fig. 3, a plan view olthe same; Figs. 4 and 5 enlarged cross-sections on lines del and 5-5 respectively of Fig. l, Fig. a detail plan secH tional view of the spike hammer lifting leh vers, as indicated byline 6-6 oin Fig. 5; Fi g. 7, an enlarged cross-section of one of the spikechutes and spike trip-mechanism, thesection being indicated by line 7 7 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8,V a plan view of a forni of tie centering device to be used in connection with tieplates; Fig. 9, a section of the same online 9-9 of Fig. S; Fig. 10, an elevation of a portion of the machine illustrating another form of tie-gripping and centeringdevice attached thereto; Fig. l1, a diagrammatic perspective view oi'a portion ol the 1nachine-lrame and levermechanism. for springing the rails while being laid upon curves; Fig. l2, a diagramma-tic plan view of another `form oi" said springing-rnechanismg F igAS, a perspective view ol the rail lowering grips showing the rails Vfed forward at different distances, to

trates the method of spacing the gangs of ties apart when delivered to the rural-bed, in cases where a slight interval of time desired between delivering the ties to a road-bed and the startiiig ol'` another gang, and Figs. i5 and lb show forms oi temporary locking' bolts ior the iish-plates, whereby ends oi" rails may be held together previous to the spiking operation.

Referring by let-ter to 'the drawings, A in dicates the frame of a car, anck the trucks, thc wheels only of the latter beingindicated by dotted lines in Figs. l and la. Fast to the lrame are standards C, which serve as supports lor overhead tracks D, which tracks at the rear'ot the machine incline downward and are. secured to said frame A, the front end el' said tracks being also inclined forward and connected to beams E, that are also secured to the car-frame, the beams being braced by the aforesaid tracks," and together therewith form a boom of suiiicicnt length to carry 'forward and support the tics and rails of a section of track.

Endless carrier chains E are provided and arranged to .travel over sheaves l, 2, 3, 4, and 5 the 'lirst three mounted upon the boom and [car-frame, sai-l chains serving to elevate and deliver the ties in position to receive the rails. The carrier chains are' driven by sprockets G, and rest overhead upon ilanges oif the tracks l), there being spurs c projectilig from the chain links, apart, lor engagement with the lies, which ties, as they are led forward overhead rest upon and are supported by said track. The end of the boom has secured thereto inwardly inclined angle-iron guides 1*, which conform to the angles of lhe chains at this point, and serve as suppoils 'for the lies as they` are turned upon the sheavc l preparatory to being delivered upon flanged guiilerails Cf, these guide-rails being mounted lupon rook-shafts I-I b varins b,- and these at suitable spaces 9 Eli break joints with each other; Fig. 14, illusi shafts in turn have their bearing independing brackets c of the boom-beams.

The sprockets G are secured to a shaft c' that has its bearings in the front standards C, while the sheaves 1, 2, 3, 4, and are similarly mounted upon cross-shafts el, c2, e3., c4, c5, the rst three of which Aare carried by the boom, andthe remaining two, 4 and 5, are .-earried by the frame A and rear standard C respe/ctively. The chains after leaving the idlers 3 are held clear of track obstruction by oi'ieor more guide-pulleys d that are supported in suitable brackets depending from said frame.

The flat-cars containing ties are provided with endless spurred chains I, and sprocket drive-wheels J, the said chains being slightly below supporting strips K of the cars, upon which strips the ties rest, andr when it is (le-- sired to feed a tie or ties forward to the machine, the c erator rocks a lever K', an arm e of which t ereby lifts the chain sufficiently so that its spurs engage said ties and feed the same forward upon ythe adjacent surface of u. the carrier-chain F.

i The sprocket drive-wheels J are driven b a link-belt Tr; which receives its motion from a sprocket 7 on the sheave-shaft c4, said linky belt being `also carried over another sprocket 8, which is mounted on a stud secured tothe K side sill of the fiat car, and imparts motion to one of a series of rollers M, from which the remaining rollers are ,driven by a belt N, as

shown by dotted lires in Fig. 1, of the drawgI`he rollers Nigtonly one of which is shown) extend eq'fual .distances apart throughout the entire length of the flatcar upon either side thereof` the width between each set being gaged slightly greater than that of the railroad track. The said rollers are provided. for the purpose of receiving and deliveringI rails in pairs from a flat car (not shown) similarly equipped with rollers, and when an operator drops` afrail upon these live rollers, it is /immediately fed forward longitudinally from car to car under the cross-ties until it reaches'the track laying machine, where it is received upon like rollers 0, which are driven by chain-belts P, engaging sprocketwheels Q, fast on the shafts R of said rollers,

which chains receive .their drive from a counter-shaft S, through a pair of sprocketwhee'ls T, T', `fast on the counter-shaft, and

anadjacent roller shaft R respectively, the

said sprockets being in link-belt connection. Similarly driven rail deliveryl rollers U are also mounted upon studs f of bracket g projecting from the boom-beams. When a pair of rails have been fed forward upon the boom the desired distance to be dro ped in place at the end of the last rails aid, they are stopped by arms V, adjustably secured to the boom beams, at which timeA lowering mechanism releases and permits .the rails to droprin position. The said lowering-mechanism comprises a drive-shaft W located centrally of the machine` and in suitable bearing of spanners X, X', secured to said machineframe and the track D respectively, there being a .third bearing postt adjacent vto the counter-shaft S, from which said drive-shaft W receives intermittent motion through bevel-gears fi, i', the latter having a clutch-` .member that is'engaged by a splined clutch-,

collar j on the aforesaid drive-shaft, which is operated by a hand-lever 7c as shown. The drive-shaft 'W carries a pair of drums Z,v Z',

that have oppositely wound cables m, m',

secured thereto, the free ends of which pass over pulleys n, n', and through eyes of one member of gripping-tongs A', and thence to the other arm thereof to which they are secured. The pulleys n', n', *are revolubly mounted upon studs o extending from the spanners X, X', as shown, and are so spaced apart'from the center of the machine as to bring the cables when 'hanging free there- -from upon a vertical'linercentral of the gage of the railway track below.

By the above arrangement, when the rails j are delivered to the track-bed the operatorv adjusts the several gripping-tongs to the rail-treads4 (see Fig. 4) and then throws lever.

7c, this causes the clutch-member connectedl bevel-gear i', and thereby revolve driveshaft W, in a direction to lift the rails free of their supporting rollers, said rails thereby adjusting themselves, by gravity, to the gageline of the track. lTheoperator then reverses lever 7c, which'disengages shaft W hom its drive, and permits the rails to drop` intol position upon the ties, -previouslydepositedthereunder in a manner as set'forthIl hereinafter.

thereto to engage theV clutch-sleeve of the IOO Motion is imparted to the shaft c', which drives the .carrier-chains F through sprockets l G, by a link-belt and sprocket-wheel connection from the counter-shaftS, the sprocketwheel p of said gear being loose on said' counter-shaft and coupled thereto by a hand controlled clutch g, 'for the purpose of starting and stopping the1 carrier-chains at the will of the operatori.

When the first of a gangofties has reachedy the desired distance from thelast tie alreadyA laid (as shown in Fig. la of the drawings) y rods s pivoted on either side of its ful-v crum to levers tfast on the rock-shafts ll. This mechanism when operated b v the lever,

as above described, will cause the guide-rails to swing outward and permit the ties to drop upon the rmid-bed.

All of the mechanism of the machine is driven b v a motor C fast thereon and geared to the counter-shaft S. through sprocketwheel and belt-connection, and said motor, if desired, may also serve as the propelling 'force of the machine to move the same forward at intervals as the work progresses, or the said machine together with its {lat-ears may be pushed :lorward from the rear by a locomotive.

After the ties and railsare in position the abutting ends oi the rails are temporarily fastened together by the usual {ish-plates,

*the latter being` clamped in place by camheaded bolts IY, as shown in Figs. .l5 and 16, the preferred form being that illustrated.

in the latter figure, which consists ol a hollow bolt having pivoted at one end a voked lever-cam u exterior ot the bolt, the pivot ol which cam carries a fixed arm i within the bolt. This arm has linked thereto a. rod having a double't'ace wedge [lare at its tree end for engagement with jaws 'w pivoted in the head of the bolt, and when the head end ol said bolt has been inserted into the openings of the fish-plates and rails, the lever-cam is turnedin the position shown, thereby causing therod to move forward, which movement sinudtaneously expands the jaws against the adjacent lish-platcl and draws the several parts together by the action of the cam against the opposite plate. '.lhis temporary lock allowed to remain until the rails have been spiked and may be replaced by bolts at will. l`he form of claraping-boltl shown in Figfl, is similar to that previorsly described, except. in place of the expansible jaws apin :1: is substituted.

In laying the ties upon the road-bed, it necessarily happens that owing to slight irregularities ol the road-bed, some oll said ties may rest slightl' '\,7 below the flanges ol' the rails, and consequently when tl i same were spiked thereto the operation would be delective, with this in view, a system ol tie retain- 'ing clamps are provided lor temporarily drawing such tics as are low up to the l'ace ol rail flange, while the spiking operation is in progress.

The above mentioned mtafhanism (as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5) consists of sets of grapple-l'iooks l", one set for each tie, the Shanks of which pass through bosses of the rock-shafts ll, said shafts being extended throughout the length o'l` the machine tor this purpose, and are supported in supplementary hangers y depraidii'igt'rom said machine. 'lhe shank of each grajiple-hook projects beyond the rock-shaft Il, and has mounted thereon a bail `e', dependingr from a rod z and between the bottom ot' the bails and shank-heads are interposed springs tt', the rods 2 being connected by cables li, to drum d, all of which drums are securel to shafts G rtwolubleI in hangers at either side oi the .nia-chine. The said shafts G" are in bevel-gear connection with a cross-shaft H, which in turn is geared to the counter-shaft S, by a link-belt and sprockets c, f', the latter sprocket being loose on said counter-shaft and provided with a hand-clutch mechanisn'i g for engaging and disengaging the same, whereby inotion is transmitted at desired intervals to the drums d to draw the grapple-l'looks up simultaneously. This is done just before the spiking, and owing to the yield of the springs u', those hooks which iirst lift the ties are permitted a further motion in order to accommodate the remaining hooks to perform a like `function.

When the operation of releasing the ties from the guide-rails G is performed, the swinging outward of the same also cause the grapple-hook to move outward 'and clear the ties, andwhen said rails are swung in, the said grapple-hooks likewise rock under the ties in position to be drawn u ward.

Two series ol' vertically a( ustable spikechutes 1 are supported by the machinetrame, at proper-.intervals apart to insure the spikes beingdelivered to the ties, these chutes being guided in straps h and held vertical by pins j which are -fitted into supports extending from tho l'rame A, which supports and pins permit the chutes being dropped to their working position close to the ties or raised so as to clear the same when said niachine is to be moved, the said chutes as shown being connected in pairs by upper and lower reaches 1i', respectively. l

ln practice, each chute is iillhd with spikes one upon the other, the -first yspike being stopped by the lower nose of a latch fm engaging the head thereof, the said latch having a. similar nose `upon a slightly higher plane that is normally ont of they path of travel of ICO IIO

the spikes. The latch is pivoted to the chute i which has openings through which the noses o'lE said latch are arranged to project and one latch ol each pair is provided with a spring n connecting thel seine with the chutes'and adapted to hold both ig'iltches in normal position through a rod o that issecured to the said latches upon opposite sides of their pivots. The release of each `pair of spikes is obtained by a lng p (one ol which is provided for each pair of latcl'les) that projects from the rock-shafts H, and when the latter is rocked to bring the grapple-hooks under the ties these lugs strike the tails of thc adjacent latches and free a. spike, the upper nose of each latch being caughtunder the head of the next spike, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The swinging back of the rockshal't permits the spring to act, thus drawing .the lower nose under the retained spike, preparatory to being released at the next y operation.

When a spike is in position to be driven, the 'latter is held upright and guided by a air of leaf-springs g', q, rojecting inward om the side walls of the chute and near the i ldischarge or lower end thereof the said springs being sufficiently resilient topermit t e spike-head topass when driven. mers J', having stems 1" that are guided in upper and lower frame-beams of the machine 'are provided, the heads of said hammers beare fast on sha ts N', which shafts have their the counter-shaftto throw the spikeham-l .bearings in hangers secured to the frameof the machine, and are driven by a cross-shaft O in bevel-gearl connection therewith. The cross-shaft O is suitably .mounted in boxes v depending from the frame-beams ofthe machine and said shaft is in link-belt and lsprocket-wheel connection with the maincounter-shaft S, therebeing a suitable lever controlled clutchw' Ain conjunction with the aforesaid driving sprocket-wheel mounted on mers in and out of operation.

To operate the hammers thepower being thrown on by means of clutch w', the cams.

Willa-revolve and raise the lifting llevers together with the hammers with each revolution, and when the tappets' uf have passed the' highest points of the-cams they w1ll pervided with guide-rollers P', the hangers Q" mit the compressed spring to act by dropping off said cams, thereby imparting a succession of blows to the splkes necessary to force them tightly in place against the rail fian es.-

After each section oftrack is laid, or t at portion constituting the length of one rail, the machine moves forward a proportional distance completingthe spiking ofthe last 'section and thatportion of the section'jusyt .laid to a point immediately back of the front truck of said machine. This forward movement consequently has to be made,

partly upon the rails not spiked, but made 'fast in the rear bythe ish-,plateaand in order to prevent disarrangement of the unspiked rails' by reason of the front truck passing lonto them, the said truck 'is proof which are arranged to exertpressure upon the tread of the rails in opposition to the truck wheel flanges. y

,means the. 'nks a When laying straight'track itis desirable to have the joints of lparallel rails alined, while upon curvessaid jointsare brokenh as shown in Fig. 12 of t 1e drawings, in the latter case one rail of course is fed in advance of the other, the arms V of the machine being ad-'.

justed for this purpose.

Fig. l1 of the drawings illustrates a mechi anism for springing the rails to conform .to

curves inthe road, and this mechanism consists of a vertical shaft Q suitably mounted in bearings in the frame Aof the machine, the upper-end of the shaft being provided with a worm-wheel R that is adapted to be geared to the `engine by any well known T o the opposite end of this shaft is secured thereto a pinion S ada ted to mesh with a toothed rackI Tf, whic rack forms p art of a ri ht-angle-frame U that haslfeet W arrange to fit over the tread of the rails,-

the lupper ends of the uprights X of saidframe being fulcrumed instirrupsofI the frame of the machine. Owing to the eX- treme wei ht and. rigidity of said `machine and the 'stance between its trucks, this .mechanism when operated by applying power to its shaft. will spring the .light-angle ff frame either to the right or left. as the-case may .'require, and owing to .the rigidityof 1 the frame A, this action will causethe rails to s ring with said frame II', theshaft being hel in its position until said rails are spiked.

Withthe carrier-chains: F, as vshuw'n having S t e ties are delivered they willbe accurately spaced so far as their driving edge=iscen urs equidistant apart, it isobvious when IOC cerned, and they will necessarilyall be in l I, approximately the correct position 4to .be spiked, but should saidties beofvarious'v widths, the surpluswidthv over a standard tie would all be 'to 'one side of 'the point. This condition whereit'is desirable may be'` overcome ,by grasping and centering' the ties after, they arelaid and previous to l' being spiked. The :mechanism for accomplishing this .result i'sus'edas a substitute for the ing as follows :l At 'either side of the machinev'frame Aare secured drum-shafts Y in bevelgear connection with .cross-shaft H', the

appling-hook mechanism, 'andisshown A in Fig. 10, the details ofv said mechanism be y caring hangers Z of the drum-shafts-beingV i extended downward 'fand .slottedy to receive studs which studs are connected to a strip f .2 upon one side ofthe han ers Z and links a u onthe opposite side t ereofLjl Each of free, end, tongs bwhich are heldnormally' open` by" springs d. The upper end'of one' of the tong members has seciiredtheretoa cable e that passes through an eye in the other tong member, from which point it' assesup and is secured to'a drum of the shaft Y', there being a stiff coiled springintermediate of the cable to permit yieldthereave pivoted thereon, at the I of. The strip e is connected to bell-crank h arranged to be engaged'by latches of the bell-crank levers.

Two or more of the hangers Z are formed with arms i for the support of a reciprocative rod j having pins Ic between which the'links a hang and said rod at one end is connected to a walking beam Z fulcrumed to the machine-frame, the upper end of which` is formed with a segmental toothed rack that meshes with a power driven pinion, said ypower being4 imparted thereto at desired intervals.

By th preceding described mechanism and refe'rence to Fig. 10, of the drawings, it will be seen that when a gang of ties are approximately in position under the rails, the tongs are dropped so that their gripping ends will straddle the ties; the spring in tue meantime holding the tong members open. N ow if motion is imparted to the drum-shaft, all

of s aid tongs will immediately close over the' ties, and a further movement upward, by a continued rotationof the .drums will draw the tiesup tightly against the rail flange, this motion being permitted by the studs ai', together with the link and strip z". The belli cranklevers are then locked inthe detents and rotation of .the drum-shaft stopped.

The centering of the ties is the next operation, and is obtained by applying power to the walking-beam L through its power pinion in a direction necessary to rock the walking-beam to a vertical position and thereby draw upon rod j, which movement, through the pins K also brings the tongs central, and in doing so causes the tiesto stop in a likewise central position with relation to their width and the spiking point.

In Figs. 1,` i, and 2, `is shown a reel A having polygonal. faces for the reception of tie-plates, the reel being driven at a periplferal speed corresponding to the speed of the tie carrier-chains F, and is secured in bearings'depending from the tracks l). lhe reel may be driven from any suitable sourceand is shown. in link-belt and sprocket connection 'v with the .drive-shaft c oi the cariier-clliain mechanism. Just above said reel, and formiig part of the track l), is a strain-plate B under which the ties in their travel slide, to receive a tie-plate C which is embedded therein, the said tic-plates being fed upon the reel by an operator located upon a platform D provided for this purpose. lhese plates form no part of my invention, and, as shown -having proiecting teeth E 4that are embedded into the ties by pressure as the reel i'evolves. r

The tie-plate feed-mechanism is only used where inferior or soft ties are utilized. vWhen said plates are used I may in connection therewith employ -a centering device for ties, such as shown in Figs.' 8 and 9 of the drawings. The above mentioned centering device consists of flat-platesandcou'pled in pairs by toggles having vertical stems G that project up through the machine and are arranged to be twisted so asnto'have the diametrically opposite edges H of the notches in the said' plates engage the tie-plates and thereby center the ties. This mechanism is quite essential when using the tie-plates, for the reason that the same are formed as shown with spike-openings, which must be brought directly under the points of spilres as vthey are delivered from the chutes.

From the foregoing description, that working of the machine is obvious, the first step being the delivery of ties for-ward and dropping the same; second, feed of the rails and dropping them in place; third, moving the car and its supply-train of rails and ties forward, stopping the same, drawing up the ties, centering and finally spiking the rails and ties together, thuslaying a track practically continuously; with the help of a small expenditure of 'unskilled labor, atta great speed and practically automatic.

`In Fig. 12, a i'ail-spring rod U is shown as a substitute for the frame U in the former, the rod is arranged to operate in direct connection witha post V, anchored in the ground, said rod being drawn forward by a hand-wheel in threaded connection therewith.

I claim:

1. A portable machine for constructing iail ways, consisting of a frame mounted upon rail supported trucks, endless carrier mechanism mounted upon the frame for delivering ties forward of the machine at suitable intervals apart, means for clearing the ties from said carrier and depositing the same upon the roadbed, mechanism for feeding rails longitudinally and forward of the machine, other means for 'releasing the 'Trails' from the feed-mechanism and delivering the same in position upon the ties, and spike feeding anddriving mechanism for securing said rails and ties together.

2. A portable machine "lor constructing railways, consisting of a frame mounted upon rail supported trucks,ia "for-ward Aboom-extension secured to the frame, endlessicarrier mechanism mounted upoii ythe frame, and booms for delivering ties forward of the machine and returning the same under the IOO IIO

me ns for releasing the aforesaid ties from the last named guides and depositing the same upon the roadbed.

portable machine for constructing f railways, consisting of a frame mounted upon tension secured to the frame, endless carrier mechanism mounted upon' the frame, and booms for delivering ties forward of the machine and returning |the same under the booms atsuitableiintervals apart, overhead supports and guidesfifor Ithe carriers upon which the ties travel, other guides for supporting said ties under said booms, means for releasing the aforesaid ties from the first named guides and depositing the same upon the roadbed, mechanism for feeding rails longitudinally and forward oi the machine, other means for releasing the rails from the `feed mechanism and delivering the same in position upon the lties, and spike feeding and driving mechanisj n for securing said rails and ties together.

4. A portable machine Jfor constructing railways, consisting of a frame mounted upon rail supported t'ucks, a forward boom extension secured to the frame, endless carrier mechanism mounted upon the frame,and booms for delivering` ties forwardoi` thema-v chiue andf returning the same under l.the-- releasing the aforesaid ties from. the last named guides and depositing the same upon A the roadbed, and mec anism for feedin g, rails longitudinally and forward of the'machine to the booms and over the deposited rails, and

means for releasing the rails from the feedmechanismand delivering the same in posisecured to said frame at suitable intervals apart for delivering spikes to a corresponding gang of ties having rails .adjusted thereto, and spiking mechanisms inA connection with the feeders.

6, A portable machine for constructing railways, consisting of 'a frame mounted upon rail supported trucks, a forward boom-exe tension secured to the frame, endless carrier mechanism mounted upon the frame, and booms for delivering ties forward of the machine and returning lthe same under the booms at suitable intervals apart, overhead. supports and guides for the carriers upon which the ,ties travel, a revoluble plate carryJ ing .drum in connection with the carriers and overhead guides, whereby tie-plates are secured to the aforesaid ties,'other guides for .supporting said tics under said boom, and' means for releasingthe aforesaid ties from4 the# last named guides and depositing the same upon the roadbed.

,In testimony that Il claim the foregoingll have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee `in the county of Milwaukee and State of 'Wisconsin in the presenceI of twowitnesses.

' RICHARD 'F.jDOWNEY. Witnesses; l

GEO. W. YOUNG, GERGE FELBER. 

